Thursday, May 5, 2011

For the Lawyer's Personal Pleasure: I was given an OttLite POD Lamp for review but otherwise, was not compensated for this review.

Official Product Description:OttLite® 508 Illumination™ makes reading, seeing and working easier. You’ll see fine print and details clearly under the low heat, low glare illumination which also helps reduce eyestrain. This lamp has smart features, such as wire management so you can easily thread your power cords through the bottom of the lamp and charge your phone, MP3 player and more right on your lamp. Keeping you organized and being able to see better – now that’s innovation!

Easily adjust the low glare OttLite illumination over your desk with the adjustable arm and shade. Plus, the design folds away when not in use resuming its intriguing POD shape.

Confession: I received one OttLite Lamp last year at BlogHer - I was at the Martha Stewart party and won it in a raffle. We ended up loving that lamp so much that I also requested the free lamp from a certificate in the gift bag from the party. I am still trying to figure out why I feel guilty about getting two lamps.

Anyway!

When I first pulled the lamp out of the packing box, my husband and I were both in agreement that it was "not to our taste" (Code for we thought it a mite homely). However, my finicky, picky husband has grown to LOVE the light from this baby. The light is perfect for working on computers - there is no glare to content with and it is weird how it is so small, yet softly illuminates the whole darned ROOM. Currently, we co-sleep with our kids and the OttLite allows my husband to work late into the nights while our son sleeps away.

Yes, you can close the thing up and the light conveniently still shines through the clear plastic part.

Furthermore, it has a docking station in which you can thread your power cord and plug whatever device you want into it.

This is great lamp for a a bedside table in a bedroom with modern decor. Also, this is a PERFECT lamp for a dorm room and would make an awesome graduation gift.

And honestly? As we move from an incandescent world to a CFL one, it is nice to know that there will be options such as OttLite out there - a quick look at their website tells me they are getting more and more models in that will go with our traditional decor.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

For the Lawyer's Personal Pleasure: I received one free Color Blanks and purchased two extra with my own money. I was not compensated for this review.

Color Blanks Product Description:
Your poseable figure gives you a white slate to design yourself! Use the included Color Blank markers to make it groovy green or bright orange with yellow stripes. Draw eyes, clothes or shoes on your figurine, then add the finishing touches with the included stickers. For extra originality, add your own fun stuff such as buttons, sequins, glitter, a hat or a prop – the possibilities are endless! Sets include 1 plastic figurine, 3 permanent mini markers and a sticker sheet.

RoseArt asked if they could sent me a Color Blanks for review purposes and I accepted. However, with two kids, I thought maybe there might be some issues with "sharing" and so I sent the review sample to a friend for her daughter and instead, bought a Color Blanks frog set for my own kids (yes, with my own money!) The Color Blanks singles are around $5 and the duo sets are around $10, so I figured we would get at least $10 amount of entertainment from them.

I had high hopes for these Color Blanks! Unfortunately, I did not realize these were meant for kidlets 6 years and older. My son is 5.5 and my daughter is nearing 4. With that in mind, we soldiered on.

First, we noticed that the markers did not dry very quickly. And they were sticky while wet. And the coverage was not spectacular for coloring the entire body of the piece. After awhile, both kids grew frustrated with how long it took to completely cover the piece in color. The markers were all over their hands, although it did wash off with some scrubbing. I finished the coloring myself and we set the pieces in front of a fan to dry. After they were dry, the kids did have fun applying the stickers. And they do still play with their frogs. So yes, RoseArt is onto a great idea - an art project that can be played with later. They just need to work out the details since the markers were not just quite right for this.

I do believe we got our money's worth, even though my kids were under the target age. The project took about 40 minutes total and the kids still play with their frogs. I certainly didn't feel cheated out of my 10 bucks! I would consider buying these again, in particular if my kids spy them and ask (politely). However, next time I would approach this differently by doing the body color with a Sharpie* by myself, leaving the object to dry, THEN letting the kids go crazy with decorations. In hindsight, I wish I would have passed my review sample to my 9 year old nephew because I think he would totally dig this.

*Yes, I am the crazy lady with a rainbow of Sharpies. Respect the Sharpie.

What's the Buzz?

I am Cagey, from Rancid Raves and this is my review site where I will talk about things that I have received for free. Truthfully, since I have a tendency to only accept things in which I am actually interested, I suspect (or hope?) this place will hold mostly positive reviews.

I can promise this: I will only give a positive review to something for which I would be willing to spend my own money.

About Me

A recovering workaholic, currently in the 12 Step program to Getting a Life. I worked my ass off to get a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree, a CPA license but then threw it all away in one fell swoop after giving birth to the results of my 2005 DNA Project. Arun arrived already needing a HAIRCUT on the delivery table. My God, the HAIR. I joined the Exclusive 2 Under 2 Club when we had our daughter Anjali in July 2007 and again, can you do the baby sign for HAIR? My very most favorite guy in the whole wide world happens to be my husband, Manoj, who puts up with not only my filthy mouth and obsessive nature, but also my honest temper, aggressive driving habits and crappy taste in television. Manoj is Indian - as in INDIA, the Land of Curry and the Infamous Asian Head Bob. He's really awesome, but actually doesn't do the head bob. Much to my disappointment.
This blog is forever sarcastic and irreverent, but rest assured that 5 days out of 7, I stop to think how utterly fortunate I am to have this crazy life of mine.